Portable gas generator



I Sept. 21, 1926. I 1,600,639,

C. T. MOELVANEY ET AL PORTABLE GAS GENERATOR Filed July 6. 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 T. M EL aTLE.

F. LEE V J Wicks Sept. 21 1926.

C. T. M ELVANEY ET AL PORTABLE GAS GENERATOR Filed July 6. 1925 Sheets-Sheet 2 home Eh 5T. M lvaggy IT. F. Lee 4/ Patented Sept. 21, 1926.

V UNITED STATES PATENT, oFFicE.

GHARLES THORNTON MQELVANEY ,AND' EMMETT FRANK LEE, on DALLAS, TEXAS.

Application filed July 6,

he present inventionzrelates to a portable gas generator for use with heating tools, and more particularlyto a locomotive tire heater. i

An object of this invention is to provide a portable gas generator of this character which comprises but few parts arranged in condensed form and which may be operated by coal or crude oil and air to produce an intense flame and generate thereby a highly inflammable gas for utilizationin tire irons or other tools.

Another object of the invention is to pro 'vide a coil heater in whiohthe flame produced by the burning of an admixture of oil and air, is directed in an upward spiral path into contact with a coil so as to play against the exposed surface of the coil and between the helices of the coil to insure an even and thorough heating of the coil and thus'ef- 'fec-tively utilize the heat generated in the spirally directed flame.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel system of pipes and valves for controlling the flow of air and oil to a burner coil and to a separate heating coil for the proper combustion of a portion of the oil and air and also for the flashing of a quantity of the admixed oil and air to produce a highly inflammable gas which when burned produces a heat of a very high temperature. l

T ie above and various other objects and advantages of this invention will in part be described in and in part understood from, the following detailed description of the present preferred embodiment, the same being illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein: 1

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a gas'producing device constructed according to the-pres ent invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same.

Fig. 3 is a detail enlarged vertical sectiontaken'through the heater of the device.

Fig. 1 is a similar view partly in elevation taken on the line 4.4 of Fig. 3 and axially at right angles thereto, and I v r Fig. 5 -is a horizontal section taken through the lower end of the heater on the line '5-5 of Fig. 3'showing the burner coil. Referring to the drawings 10 designates the platform of a truck which may f be mounted on wheels 11 to render the device p'ortablef On one end ofthe platform 10 is 1925.. Serial No. 41,797.

mounted a storage tank12 for'coal oil, crude. oil, or the like, to be consumed in the device.

' The top of the tank 12 is provided with a compressed air connection 13 by means. of which air under pressure is admitted to the top of the tank to place the oil under pressure. A blow-off valve 1 1 ismounted in the side of the tank12 near its top to relieve the pressure of air when desired. From a point near the bottom of the tank 12. an oil pipe lb is led and provided with a non-return check valve 16 to prevent back flow of oil to the tank. This tank 12 is of sufficient strength, to withstand the desired pressure, and the pipe 15 extends from the tank a'short distance and isthence carried upwardly and connectedby a T coupling 17 or the like to oil branch pipes 18 and'19. The branch pipe '18 is carried downwardly from the T coupling 17 and is provided with a control valve 20 and leads along theplatfor m 10 to a gas generator 21 mounted on'the other end of the platform. It will be noted that the pipe 18 leads into the lower part of-the gas gen-- erator 21. The other branch pipe 19 extends fromthe T coupling 17 to the top of the gas generator 21. An air pipe-22 leads from the air connection 13 and 'is provided: with a nonreturn check valve 23 toprevent the'air from returning to the connection and to the tankf The air pipe 22 isprovided with two branches 2 1 and 25 which lead respectively to the oil pipe branches 18 and'19.

The air branch 24 opens through a T 26 i into. the oil branch 18 beyond the valve 20,

and the air branch 25 opens through a T. 27 into the oil branch 19 beyond a controlling valve 28 which is mounted in the oil branch 19. The air branch'24 has a controlling valve 29 therein while the air branch 25 has a controlling valve 30 therein. In order to facilitateassembling and separation of the various pipes, union couplings 31.

may be employed where desired- As best seen from Figs. 3, 4 and 5, the gas generator 21 comprises an outer casing of cylindrical form closed at its 1 bottom and 1 open at its to p. Concentrically disposed within the outer casing is an innerreceptacle or cylinder 32' closed atiits bottom and open at its top. A heat non-conducting packing -83, of asbestos'or 'the'like, is placed between the inner and "outercylindrical members, between the walls; and bottoms thereof. A. top ring 34 is seated upon the upper ends of the cylindrical members to close in thepacking 33 and is held in place by stay bolts 35 which extend vertically through the packing, the ring 34 a-ndthe platform for holding the parts together and for securing the heater to the platform.

Seated in the bottom of the receptacle or inner cylindrical member 32 is a burner coil 36 which is of spiral form and'has one end projecting through the side of the gas genera-tor 21 and connected to the oil branch pipe 18.

The inner end 37 of the burner coil 36 is openfor the purpose of emitting a spray of the oil and air as hereinafter described. Arranged above the'burner coil 36 is a helical h'eatingor flashing coil 38 which may e: tend to thetop of the gas generator 21 and has its upper end connected to the oil branch pipe 1.9l- The convoluti'onsof the heating coil '38 are slightly spaced apart so as to expose the. adjacent surfaces thereof tofthe flame which rises through the gas generator 21. The lower portion of the heating coil 38 rests upon the outer convolution of the burner coil 36, and the lower end of the heating coil 38 is carried outwardly through one side-of the gas generator 21 for connection to a tire ironor other tool used for the consumption ofa'highly inflammable gas.

The operation of thegas generator is "as follows: The tank '1 2'is filled to the desired height with coal oil,and air under pressure is introducedthrough the connection 13 by a hose or the like from-the blower lines'and compressors with which shops are usually supplied. A small' portion of waste is ignited and thrownido wn into the top of the gas generator 21. The air under pressure in the tank 12 forces oil therefrom through pipe 15,, check valve 16 and into the branch pipes 18'and 19. The valve 20 is opened to the desired extent to allow a supply of the oil'to 'flowthrough'the pipe 18 into theburn- ,er coil 36.

At the same time the valve 29 is opened to admit air under pressure from the pipe 22 'coil 36 and is given a spiral swirling movement as it is ignited and'burnedso that the flame travels upwardly *in-a-spiral path and is-impinged against the spaced ,convolutions of the-heating coil 38. By *reg-ulating'the valves 20 and 29 the desired pressure is ol tained-in-the burner coil 36 so that the issuing spray-is g ven the desi ed-volume impetus, and the-t proportions of the admin re regulated to secure the best results. he gas ge :ato :21 giv hnaeylind i al b de to in ar re spial u1 ard 1 bf the lame to: niformly heat the coil The coil 38 may be heated to the desired ten'iperature, and wheuso heated the valves 28 and are opened so as to admit an ad mixture of the oil and air'into the top of the coil 38. Thisadmixture of oil and air, entering the heated coil 38 is flashed into a h ghly inflammable gas which is carried dow wardly through the coil 38 and raised in temperature during such passage, and finally is carried out through the bottom of the gas generator 21 for use in tire irons or other tools used forapplying high degreeso-f temperature to the tires of locomotives, or the like.

It is of course understood that various changes'andmodifications may be made in the details ofconstruC-tion and'design of-the above specifically described form of the gas generator without departing from the-spirit of the invention, such changes and inodifica- 'tions being restricted only by the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is 1. In a po'rtablegas generator, the combination of: an oil'tank,;a gas genera-tor, an oil supplyline connecting said oil-tank and said gas generator, anal-r supply line connected to said oil supply line'intermediate the oil tank and'the gas generator for atomizing the'oil, said gas generator comprising a heat insulated-casing, a gas generating coil mounted within the casing, and a burner mounted in'the; casing and below the gas genera-ting coil. e I

A portable. gas generatorcomprising the combinationof an oilsu-pply tank, a gas generator, a movable platform adapted to carrys aid oil supplytank and gas generator, means for c'onn'ectingysaid oil supply tank and gas generator, said connecting means being adapted. to supply oil'to'the gas generator, and a compressed air line connected 'to the oil line-intermediate the oil tank and the gas generator, said gas generator comprising a-heat insulated casing, ah'elical gas generating jcoil mounted within the-insulated casing, andh burner mounted in the casing and below the helical 1 coil, said burner being adapted to project a helical flame against said helical coil.

A +portable gas vgenerator comprising the combination of an oil supply tank, gas generator, a movable platform adapted to carry said O l suppl-ytankandgas generator, an oil supplyline connecting said-oil-supply tank and ages genera t-or, -an air line connect- ;said oil line intermediate sa-id oil supply tank and gas gener or,:sjaidgasgenerator comprisin gaiheat insulated casing, a helical generating coil mounted within the eas- 7 i 13 e d-h vi g an i le v nd n ou e th ugh t e eases, ant a h lic l c l urn mounted-i 1 t e casing an o the h lica sea A ena e ge era e? "qqmpr sing the unitary combination of an oil supply tank, a gas generator; an oil supply line joining said oil tank and gas generator, and an air line'connected to said oil line intermediate the oil tank and gas generator, said gas generator comprising a heat insulated casing, a helical gas generating coil mounted With n thehe'at insulated casing, and a coil burner mounted Within the casing and below the gas generator 001], sald burner being 5 adapted to impart a swirling motion to the flame projected therefrom.,

CHARLES THORNTON McELVANEY. EMMETT FRANK LEE. 

